Which Autoimmune Diseases Can Qualify for Disability?
The type of autoimmune disease you suffer from isn’t as important to a disability benefits claim as showing how you meet Social Security’s work-focused definition of a disability.
Diseases that can qualify for Social Security Disability benefits include:
- Lupus
- Systemic vasculitis
- Polymyositis and dermatomyositis
- Sjögren’s syndrome
- Systemic sclerosis (scleroderma)
- Forms of arthritis (such as rheumatoid arthritis)
- Undifferentiated and mixed connective tissue disease
Social Security lists these impairments as potentially eligible for disability benefits—if they reach its prescribed levels of severity—in its official listing of impairments.
If you have a disease listed in the autoimmune section, a claims examiner will use the criteria outlined there to evaluate your claim.
This means they will want to see that your condition affects a significant area of your body, that it’s resistant to treatments, and that you show symptoms and signs of autoimmune diseases, including severe fatigue, malaise and involuntary weight loss.
A claims examiner won’t take your word alone about these symptoms. You’ll need objective evidence—reports and exam results from doctors—to make a convincing case for disability benefits.
Our Georgia disability lawyers can help you gather evidence like:
- A diagnosis from a rheumatologist or another specialist
- Medical imaging, including X-rays, CT scans and MRIs
- Results of lab tests, including ANA tests and rheumatoid factor (RF) tests
- Information about treatments you’ve tried and how they’ve affected your symptoms
- A list of prescription medications you’re taking, their dosages, their effects and side effects
- Evidence that you needed accommodations at work, like extra breaks or a reduced workload, due to your illness
- Statements from friends, family members, coworkers, neighbors and anyone else who has seen you struggle with your health firsthand
Getting this together can be difficult, especially if you see multiple specialists, but it’s easier when our team is working to help you build a persuasive claim.
Residual Functional Capacity: What It Is and How it Affects Your Autoimmune Disease Disability Claim
Even if your particular ailment isn’t mentioned under Social Security’s autoimmune listing, or you suffer from multiple health issues besides your autoimmune disease, you should still apply for disability benefits if you can’t work.
A measurement known as residual functional capacity, or RFC, will be key to your claim. It doesn’t depend on a specific diagnosis. Your RFC shows the Social Security Administration (SSA) what kinds of everyday capabilities you have despite your health issues.
A claims examiner wants to know answers to questions like:
- Can you walk, sit or stand for long periods of time?
- Can you handle fine motor tasks, like typing?
- Can you tolerate environmental factors like dust, fumes or changes in temperature?
- Can you remember information and apply it?
- Can you stay on task?
- Can you interact well with others?
Your autoimmune disease makes you tired. You’re in physical pain, and the symptoms create strains on your mental health as well.
This can make doing any kind of work task, even sitting at a desk, impossible. Our Athens disability attorneys can help you show how your disease limits you and how this makes it difficult to do any kind of job.
If you have questions about RFC and how the SSA evaluates disability claims, the lawyers of Silver & Archibald can answer them.
How Do I Claim Disability for an Autoimmune Disease? A Step-by-Step Guide
This is a complex process. It’s going to take a while to prepare your application and hear back about whether you’re approved for benefits.
Let’s take this step by step:
Step #1: Gather evidence for your claim.
We mentioned that medical records are essential to your claim, but that’s not the only kind of evidence that can help you make your case for benefits.
Evidence of disruptions to your work, like frequent missed days due to your symptoms, can help, as can any information about accommodations you needed on the job. If your employer provided extra breaks or reduced your workload, that’s something to include when you’re claiming disability.
Our disability attorneys can also help you gather statements from friends, family members, neighbors, coworkers and anyone else who has witnessed your health struggles.
Step #2: Prepare to verify your work history or financials.
If you’re applying for SSDI, you’ll need to verify your work history and show Social Security that you’ve earned enough work credits to qualify.
If you’re applying for SSI, you’ll have to show that you meet the strict financial requirements for this need-based program. Qualifying individuals can have just $2,000 in countable financial resources and qualifying couples are limited to $3,000 in assets that count.
Step #3: Apply for disability benefits and wait for a response.
You can apply for disability benefits online, over the phone or in person at a local Social Security office.
Whichever option you choose, it’s wise to have a Georgia disability attorney guide you. We’ll make sure that you fill out forms correctly and have the evidence needed to back up your claim.
Then you have to wait for the SSA to respond. This typically takes several months, but wait times can stretch longer depending on the size of the backlog of claims and staffing levels at Social Security.
Step #4: Appeal if your disability claim gets denied.
Don’t get discouraged if you get denied disability benefits the first time you apply. According to recent Social Security data, only around 35% to 40% of initial claims are successful in Georgia.
You can fight for benefits on appeal, but you have to act quickly. Social Security gives you just 60 days to respond and request reconsideration, the first step of appealing.
Wait too long and you may have to start over with a new application for disability benefits.
Our Athens disability lawyers can help you respond to the SSA in a timely way and guide you through each stage of appeal.
We’ll represent you at your disability hearing, help you make your case to an administrative law judge, and assist you with higher stages of appeal if your hearing doesn’t go your way.
You can encounter many obstacles on your way to winning benefits for an autoimmune disease, but the Georgia disability lawyers of Silver & Archibald can help you at each step of the way.
Whether you need advice on talking to your doctor about your limitations or you need assistance filling out paperwork, we’ll use our knowledge of the Social Security Disability system to help you get the best chance of approval for SSDI or SSI—and to secure a more stable and healthy life.
Get to Know Silver & Archibald Disability Attorneys
Legal cases involving your health struggles are highly personal matters. When you’re looking for help, you want someone who treats you with the personal care, respect, and dignity this moment requires.
Answers to Common Questions About Social Security Disability
Social Security Disability is a huge program with a vast set of rules. As a resource for you as you sort out your disability claim, the disability lawyers at Silver & Archibald have prepared answers to some of the most common questions people have.
Common Disability Benefits Questions »
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